Cochiti Pueblo Pottery Owl Figurine [SOLD]

Ignacita Suina is one of the early potters from Cochiti Pueblo. She was active from around c1900s to 1930s and is credited with making large storage jars and dough bowls.  According to Jonathan Batkin, a noted authority on pueblo pottery, she was "one of the best twentieth century potters of Cochiti."  -Schaaf 2002

The 1920 U. S. Census lists her and her husband, Santiago Arquero, as owning their own home and farm.  She had attended school, learning to read and write English.  There is no definite date listed when she retired from making pottery or passed away, but it is suspected that she did not make pottery much  after the 1930s.

This owl is signed in pencil Cochiti Ignacita Suina which may indicate she made it before her marriage to Santiago Arquero which would have been before the 1920 U. S. Census.

The owl is painted in black guaco pigment over the traditional cream Cochiti slip.  Both wings are outstretched as if the owl is ready to fly.

Condition: appears to be in original condition which is remarkable considering its age

Provenance: from a gentleman in Albuquerque

Recommended Reading: Southern Pueblo Pottery 2,000 Artist Biographies by Gregory Schaaf